Dear friends,
Today is the deadline for the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The report itself – hundreds of pages long and drawing on the work of thousands of scientists over the past eight years – is settled, but still in dispute is the crucial “summary for policymakers”, a selection of key messages running to only about 40 pages.
Political leaders are inclined to downplay the scientific findings and resist the recommendations for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and funding nations in the Global South that face the most immediate climate impacts.
So, here in the US, we need to keep the heat on our political leaders, who are poised to fail us, again.
Bill McKibben recently described how close we’ve come — but for Joe Manchin — to beating Big Oil. He notes that Putin’s war on Ukraine has created an opportunity that we’re missing:
The main American energy response to Putin’s war has been to ‘surge’ liquefied natural gas to Europe, which is the top item on Big Oil’s wishlist. As the energy analyst Justin Guay pointed out, this would be okay if they explicitly made it a short-term effort to reallocate existing supplies, but instead they’re clearly planning on building new infrastructure and locking in the supply for many years to come. As the Wall Street Journal summed it up, “Natural-Gas Industry Gets Boost as Biden Shifts Stance.” They seem, in other words, to be choosing precisely the wrong version of the Marshall Plan—not heat pumps for peace, but natural gas for climate destruction. And all for a little less political pain along the line.
Contact the President today to let him know that we need meaningful climate action now. The action is ready-made and will take less than a minute.
Debt is called a burden for a reason. The pause on student debt payments is set to end on May 1, which is an alarming prospect for vast majority of the 45 million Americans who owe money for student loans. Monthly loan payments average $400.
A survey of more than 20,000 borrowers by the Student Debt Crisis Center conducted in February found that 92% of fully employed borrowers are concerned about being able to afford their student loan payments because of inflation.
As a presidential candidate, Biden expressed support for Elizabeth Warren’s proposal to cancel at least $10,000 for each student loan debtor, but he has not yet indicated what action he plans to take action before the pause expires.
Today, a rally is planned in DC by the Debt Collective, with support from dozens of organizations, including MoveOn, the Working Families party, NextGen America, and the Hip Hop Caucus.
In the face of high inflation and rising interest rates, the end of the loan pause could create dire circumstances for debtors.
Send a letter to the President calling for the cancellation of student debt. This ready-made action from Moms Rising will take just 15 seconds!
Learn more about Debt Collective, and find out how to join the union.
There are piles of bad news from near and far. Even when the news seems positive — Ukrainians regaining control of cities and towns near the Kyiv — it is tainted by horrific news of atrocities committed by Russian troops and forced deportations of Ukrainians to Russia.
Our national COVID numbers appear improved, but here in NYC, test positivity and cases are rising. COVID funding does not seem to be forthcoming, even though the disparate impacts of the pandemic are obvious.
Contact your representative and call for $1.5 billion in COVID funding to protect the uninsured.
We still have no budget in NYS, and that means that it’s another good day to call the governor. She promised to listen to legislators, but that’s not the way things are playing out.
Eleven activists and advocates for Fair Pay for Home Care were arrested at the capitol last week. Fresh troops of protesters headed up to Albany this morning.
Call the governor (again!) at 1-518-474-8390; press 3 and then 2 to speak to a person. Tell the staffer we can’t afford not to fund Fair Pay for Home Care. Please call and make them listen to reason.
Take care of yourself. As always, I’ll bring the good news on Tuesday!
Here are some meditations for uncertain times from The New York Times. There are seven and each one is about 5 minutes long.
with love,
L